Boulder will move forward with developing a transportation maintenance fee to pay for pavement and other road needs.

The Boulder City Council did not take formal action Tuesday night because the details of the proposed fee -- including how much money it should attempt to raise -- are still being worked out.

Several council members raised concerns that the proposed fees don't provide incentives to drive less or will be perceived by the public as a tax.

However, the council members said they want the city to keep working on the issue and hold public meetings to get a sense of how residents feel about the idea. Those meetings have not been scheduled yet.

City officials said declining tax revenues and rising construction costs have made it harder for the city to maintain its streets the way it would like. The city aims for an "overall condition index" of 78 for its streets, but it's now at 75.

The proposed transportation maintenance fee would be collected on utility bills, like the stormwater management fee, and would raise between $2.5 million and $5.6 million.

The lower end of the range would cover the funding gap between what the city spends now on road maintenance, including sidewalks and multi-use paths, and what it needs to spend to maintain pavement to its standards. The higher end would also cover current maintenance spending, freeing up money in the transportation budget to spend on other needs.

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The proposed fees range from $35 to $80 a year for single-family detached homes and from 10 to 22 cents per square foot for commercial buildings and shopping centers.

Officials propose different rate structures for different types of commercial and industrial property based on how much traffic they generate.

Unlike many taxes, the fees as proposed would apply to other governmental entities, including the University of Colorado and Boulder Valley School District, which would be assessed per-student fees.

That's a key advantage to a fee for some City Council members.

"If we go to a tax, there's no way to collect from some institutions that impact our roads a lot," said Councilman Ken Wilson, who pointed to BVSD, CU and the federal labs and said they need to contribute.

Councilwoman Lisa Morzel said she would prefer a fee that accounts for how much people use the roads.

City transportation officials said even people who walk or ride their bikes need good road infrastructure to support the overall economy, including getting goods to stores. The fee would also be used to maintain sidewalks and multi-use paths.

Morzel said there are still individual differences in impact.

"But that doesn't take into account the impact of the person," she said. "The person who walks everywhere has a much lower impact than someone who has four SUVs. I would like to see something a little more equitable that addresses the individual impacts."

Other City Council members said trying to carve out exemptions for some residents could provoke more opposition to the fee.

Councilman George Karakehian compared the fee to school district taxes, which are paid by everyone, regardless of whether they have children enrolled in school.

"We all do that because it's for the good of the whole, and we don't question that," Karakehian said.

Councilman Macon Cowles said the fee should be seen as an opportunity to help fill the city's long-term budget gap.

Councilwoman Suzanne Jones said members of the public will want to know what the city is doing to reduce driving -- which is the single largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the city -- though those programs don't necessarily have to be funded through the maintenance fee.

The city's transportation department is in the process of revising its master plan with a focus on reducing driving.

The council will discuss the proposed fee again at a study session April 9.

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